Sister of Kennedy widow 'had illegitimate son and scandalous affair with Haarper's Bazaar publisher and didn't care who knew'
- Books claims Ann Skakel McCooey had an affair with William M. Fine in 1960
- Michael Skakel is nephew of Ethel Kennedy and Ann Skakel McCooey
- Skakel is seeking to be released from prison on bail while he awaits a retrial in the 1975 murder of Martha Moxley
- In 2002, Skakel was found guilty of beating his neighbor Moxley to death when they were 15-year-old neighbors in Greenwich, Connecticut
View
comments
Ann Skakel McCooey, the sister of Ethel Kennedy and aunt of accused murderer Michael Skakel, gave birth to an illegitimate child during an extra-martial affair, it has been claimed.
Skakel, 53, lived with Mrs McCooey during his original trial and she is supporting him as he awaits a new trial in the 1975 beating death of neighbor Martha Moxley.
Today it was reported that the 80-year-old had a scandalous affair with William M. Fine, former publisher of a dozen magazines for the Hearst Corporation, including Harper’s Bazaar, Cosmopolitan and Town & Country in 1960.
Scroll down for video
Claims: Ann Skakel McCooey kisses Robert Kennedy at the Michael Skakel trial. Today it was reported that the 80-year-old had a scandalous affair with William M. Fine, former publisher of a dozen magazines for the Hearst Corporation
The claims were made in a book, The Other Mrs. Kennedy' by Jerry Oppenheimer, reported Page Six.
RELATED ARTICLES
Thrown to the wolves for falling in love with Faria: From... 
Date nights and HUGE helpings of humble pie - Paul...
Texas surgeon recalls scenes in emergency room on 50th...
Share this article
ShareThe 1994 book also alleges that Mrs McCooey, sibling of Ethel Kennedy, Robert F. Kennedy’s widow, had an illegitimate child with Mr Fine.
It claims this caused a rift between her and Ethel at the time and Ethel forced then-Attorney General Bobby Kennedy to negotiate a quiet divorce settlement for McCooey in case it blew up into a career-destroying scandal.
One person told the book of McCooey’s alleged affair with Fine: 'It was almost as if Ann didn’t care who knew.'
'It was a very hypocritical place. Once, our friend Bob Mathias, the Olympic star, a big, good-looking guy, came to visit and the women went bonkers ... practically handing him their panties.'
Another said of McCooey’s alleged affair with Mr Fine: 'It was almost as if Ann didn’t care who knew.'
Mrs. McCooey, raised a son and daughter on her own after a divorce.
Claims: Mr Fine and his wife in 1965. Mr Fine, whose research for Gov. Nelson A. Rockefeller helped shape New York State¿s stringent narcotics laws, died aged 86 in May this year in Beverly Hills, Calif
Family: The book claims this caused a rift between her and Ethel at the time and Ethel forced then-Attorney General Bobby Kennedy to negotiate a quiet divorce settlement for McCooey
She did not have a job - the Skakel family business, Great Lakes Carbon, a carbon coke manufacturer, was once one of the largest private companies in the country.
She supported her nephew after his father - her and Ethel Kennedy's brother Rushton Skakel - moved to Florida in poor health.
Mr Skakel’s mother had died of cancer when he was young and Mr Skakel died in 2003.
Mr Fine, whose research for Gov. Nelson A. Rockefeller helped shape New York State’s stringent narcotics laws, died aged 86 in May this year in Beverly Hills, Calif.
Wants out: Michael Skakel is seeking to be released from prison on bail while he awaits a retrial in the 1975 slaying of Martha Moxley
He was twice divorced and had three sons - his daughter-in-law, Delia, said the cause of his death was multiple atrophy syndrome, reported The New York Times.
He was two divorced and had three sons.
Skakel wants to be released from prison on bail, with his attorney Hubert Santos filing a motion two weeks ago seeking a $500,000 bond.
'In light of this utter lack of evidence, combined with trial counsel's constitutionally deficient performance, (Skakel's) continued incarceration would be a miscarriage of justice of the highest order,' Santos wrote.
Moxley was 15-years-old when she was bludgeoned to death with a golf club in October 1975 in Greenwich, Connecticut.
Skakel, also 15 at the time, was found guilty of his young neighbor's murder in 2002.
He has spent more than a decade in jail. He was sentenced to serve 20 years to life.
But earlier this month Connecticut Judge Thomas Bishop ruled that Skakel's trial attorney, Michael Sherman, failed to adequately represent him and ordered a retrial.
Sherman, however, maintains he 'worked hard' and the 'jury made a mistake'.
In appealing for his release, Skakel's lawyers said he was not a flight risk and that he 'has been returned to the status of an innocent defendant awaiting trial'.
The news comes as Robert F. Kennedy Jr spoke out in defense of his convicted killer cousin last month to again protest his innocence.
He said on the Today show that if his cousin was guilty, he would have testified against him himself.
Thrilled at decision: Robert F. Kennedy Jr spoke to the Today show in his cousin's defense and said he is sure Skakel will be found innocent at the retrial
Meanwhile, Sherman told MailOnline he felt guilty about Skakel's conviction, believing him to be innocent.
'I don't know if there was anything I would have done differently if the occasion arrived again,' he said. 'Does it bother me? It's been 14 years and a half a day doesn't go by without pain in my heart.'
Sherman, who said he will testify for Skakel when the court's curtain is raised again, believes he 'worked hard' and that the verdict was wrong. He said he was willing to take the fall if it means getting his client off the murder rap.
'It's not about me. It's not about me,' he said. ' It's about an innocent man going to jail. I like to say I don't take it personally.'
Second chances? Seen here in 2001 on his way to his arraignment, Michael Skakel was later convicted of murdering his neighbor when they were 15 in 1976. He's was granted a new trial Wednesday
Brutal: Skakel was convicted of murdering his Greenwich, Connecticut neighbor Martha Moxely (pictured) in 1975 by bludgeoning her with his mother's golf club and shoving the shattered shaft into her neck
In his television appearance, RFK Jr said he was certain Skakel would be freed once the case goes to trial, despite admitting it is very difficult to reverse a conviction in U.S. courts.
'Michael's one crime is that he had poor representation. I know if he gets into trial, he will definitely be freed.
'He should have been freed in the first trial, the evidence against him and the police work, there was no credible evidence that couldn't have been challenged by much stronger evidence.
'He's got good lawyers now. There is no way in the world he will be convicted.
'In this case, the initial conviction was wrong and it was wrong because Michael had a - had very, very poor representation and as Judge Bishop outlines in his 136-page opinion, those are just two of the many mistakes.'
Judge Bishop wrote in his decision, which was obtained by The Hartford Courant newspaper: 'The defense counsel was in a myriad of ways ineffective.
'The defense of a serious felony prosecution requires attention to detail, an energetic investigation and a coherent plan of defense capable (sic) executed.
'Trial counsel's failures in each of these areas of representation were significant and, ultimately, fatal to a constitutionally adequate defense.'
Kennedy cousin: Michael Skakel is the nephew of Ethel Kennedy, the widow of assassinated Senator and presidential hopeful Robert F. Kennedy
Case: Skakel's case for a new trial revolves around his defense attorney at the time Mickey Sherman, who Skakel has now successfully convinced a judge was 'too enamored with the media attention to focus on the defense'
During a state trial in April on the appeal, Skakel took the stand and blasted Sherman's handling of the case, portraying him as an overly confident lawyer having fun and basking in the limelight while making fundamental mistakes from poor jury picks to failing to track down key witnesses.
Santos argued that the prosecutors' case rested entirely on two witnesses of dubious credibility who came forward with stories of confessions after 20 years and the announcement of a reward. Skakel had an alibi, he said.
Santos contends Sherman was 'too enamored with the media attention to focus on the defense.' Sherman told criminal defense attorneys at a seminar in Las Vegas six months before the trial that one of his goals in representing Skakel was to have a 'good time,' Santos said.
'Michael Skakel is innocent!': Skakel's cousin Robert F. Kennedy Jr. came out swinging in an interview hours after the judge's decision in which he defended Skakel and even pointed the finger at other possible suspects
'Defending a murder charge is not about enjoying oneself, it is about zealously advocating for the client and providing him with the assistance guaranteed by our constitution,' Santos wrote in court papers.
'It is not about getting invited to A-list parties in New York City, or launch parties for the trendy new television show, or going to the Academy Awards and all the 'cool parties' afterwards.'
'I do believe Michael Skakel killed my daughter,' said her mother Dorthy Moxley in an interview with Piers Morgan.
'I am not concerned,' Moxley said over the phone as she recovered from a procedure on her back. 'He convicted himself, practically.'
She also had some choice words about Robert Kennedy Jr.'s interest in his cousin's plight.
'I don't believe Robert Kennedy came to the trial very much,' she quipped. 'He wasn't that interested [at the time].'
Moxley, of course, was interested and was in attendance every day. She even had a warm rapport with defense attorney Sherman, reports CNN.
And if there's a new trial, Moxley said, 'I will be there.'
Dorthy's son, and Martha's brother, John Moxley was slightly less optimistic.
He said the ruling took him and his family by surprise and they hope the state wins an appeal.
'Having been in the courtroom during the trial, there were a lot of things that Mickey Sherman did very cleverly,' Moxley said about Skakel's trial lawyer. 'But the evidence was against him. And when the evidence is against you, there's almost nothing you can do.
'I do believe Michael Skakel killed my daughter': Martha's mother Dorthy Moxley is not concerned about the decision. She says the evidence speaks for itself and that Skakel all but convicted himself at trial
Release? Skakel's attorney intended to file a motion for his client's release on bond Thursday, which could have Skakel out of jail for the first time in over 10 years
'I don't care if it was Perry Mason,' Moxley said. 'The state had the evidence. It was his own words and deeds that led to the conviction.'
In his ruling, the judge wrote that defense in such a case requires attention to detail, an energetic investigation and a coherent plan of defense.
'Trial counsel's failures in each of these areas of representation were significant and, ultimately, fatal to a constitutionally adequate defense,' Bishop wrote. 'As a consequence of trial counsel's failures as stated, the state procured a judgment of conviction that lacks reliability.'
Among other issues, the judge wrote that the defense could have focused more on Skakel's brother, Thomas, who was an early suspect in the case because he was the last person seen with Moxley. Had Sherman done so, 'there is a reasonable probability that the outcome of the trial would have been different,' the judge wrote.
Sherman has said he did all he could to prevent Skakel's conviction and denied he was distracted by media attention in the high-profile case.
SO MANY KENNEDYS: WHERE DOES SKAKEL FIT INTO THE MIX?
- Michael Skakel is the nephew of Ethel Kennedy, the widow of Senator turned assassinated presidential hopeful Robert F. Kennedy.
- Ethel was born Ethel Skakel in Chicago in 1928 to a wealthy Catholic family whose money came from success in the coal business.
- Michael is the son of Ethel Kennedy's brother Rushton Skakel, who was once patriarch of one of America's wealthiest families.
Santos contends Sherman failed to obtain or present evidence against earlier suspects, failed to sufficiently challenge the state's star witness and other testimony and made risky jury picks including a police officer.
Prosecutors countered that Sherman spent thousands of hours preparing the defense, challenged the state on large and small legal issues, consulted experts and was assisted by some of the state's top lawyers. Sherman attacked the state's evidence, presented an alibi and pointed the finger at an earlier suspect, prosecutors said.
'This strategy failed not because of any fault of Sherman's, but because of the strength of the state's case,' prosecutor Susann Gill wrote in court papers. 'If the evidence on which the jury based its verdict is not considered compelling, then many verdicts upheld in this state must truly be on shaky ground.'
The state's case included three confessions and nearly a dozen incriminating statements by Skakel over the years, Gill said. She also said there was strong evidence of motive.
'His drug-addled mental state, coupled with the infuriating knowledge that his hated brother Tommy had a sexual liaison with Martha, and the fact that Martha spurned his advances, triggered the rage which led him to beat her to death with a golf club,' Gill wrote.
Gill said what Sherman did with his personal time was irrelevant. She said the evidence cited by the defense was not significant and that Sherman had sound strategic reasons for his decisions.
Skakel, who maintains his innocence, was denied parole last year and was told he would not be eligible again to be considered for release for five years.
DEATH BY 6 IRON ON DEVIL'S NIGHT: THE BRUTAL MURDER OF MARTHA MOXLEY
Weapon: This photo evidence used at trial shows the murder weapon, a 6 iron golf club that belonged to the late mother of Tommy and Michael Skakel
Martha Moxley was out causing mischief on Devil's Night, the night before Halloween, in 1976. She was ringing doorbells, spraying shaving cream, throwing eggs, and toilet papering homes in her elite gated community in Greenwich, Connecticut.
The last house she happened upon was that of Michael and his brother Tommy Skakel.
She left no later than 11pm, to walk the 150 yards or so to her neighboring house. But she never got there.
Instead, her body was found beneath a tree in her back yard.
She had been bludgeoned with a 6 iron golf club so powerfully that the shaft had shattered.
Martha had been impaled in the neck with a shard from the shattered club.
Her pants had been removed, along with her underwear, but there were no signs of sexual assault.
Tommy and Michael were initially suspects in the case after it was discovered that the murder weapon had belonged to their late mother.
Long believed to have been bungled from the start, many believed police gave the rich family special treatment in the case and ignored, or failed to even look for, incriminating evidence.
Scene: Another court evidence photo shows the rear of the Skakel home in their elite gated Greenwich, Connecticut community. Martha Moxley's home was just 150 yards away
The Skakels cooperated with the investigation until 1976, then abruptly stopped.
Years of continued speculation about Tommy, Michael, and a range of other suspects followed.
Books were published on the subject, including one by Mark Fuhrman of OJ Simpson trial infamy, but it wasn't until 1999 that the case got any more traction.
Clues? Evidence photo from the trial show a hallway in the Skakel home, left, and a drop of blood in their driveway, right. In the years since the 1975 slaying, some have criticized the police investigators of failing to search adequately for clues because of the family's prestige
That's when a rare Connecticut one-man grand jury was called to hear evidence for a potential new trial in the case.
Fifty witnesses testified. Reportedly among them were employees and residents of the Elan School in Poland Springs, Maine, where some claim Michael confessed to the murder while undergoing rehab there.
In January 2000, an arrest warrant was issued for Michael Skakel. He soon surrendered to authorities.
After a four week trial, Skakel was found guilty of murder and sentenced to 20 years to life.
ncG1vNJzZmivp6x7pa3IpbCmmZmhe6S7ja6iaKaVrMBwrdGtoJyklWJ%2FdYSWaWlpZ4OewLWx0WaCnqaemrG6edaim6ivXZ65rbHGoquipZGpsm6%2FzqdkrJuRo7GiuM6uqmaZlpuuqr6MgZiaqqCav26OwLOYmqpdpcKjuMisn56qXZm2pbrTZpqaqpViuK%2Bx1mefraWc